cons 1 of 4

noun (1)

Definition of consnext
plural of con
as in prisoners
a person convicted as a criminal and serving a prison sentence a program to help ex-cons find employment

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cons

2 of 4

noun (2)

plural of con
as in scams
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value the explanation was so plausible that I never suspected it was all a con to make off with my car

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cons

3 of 4

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of con
1
as in studies
to commit to memory usually candidates con their entire campaign speech, right down to the jokes they supposedly ad-lib

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reviews
to look over closely (as for judging quality or condition) seemed to be conning his face for any sign of uncertainty

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cons

4 of 4

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of con
1
as in hustles
to rob by the use of trickery or threats a fly-by-night operator who had conned hundreds of would-be homeowners out of their hard-earned money

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2
as in tricks
to cause to believe what is untrue tried to con me into thinking that he had actually won the lottery

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cons
Noun
Gaiam yoga mat cons Gaiam yoga mats don’t always have the best quality compared to other brands. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 14 July 2026 Pros & cons 5% cash back rewards on category of choice for **Chime Prime members. — Ryley Amond, CNBC, 10 July 2026 Read this for details of how to download and read on for the pros and cons of installing the new software now. — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 The board weighed the pros and cons. — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 23 June 2026 Downside To Dryer Balls Dryer balls don't have many cons. — Lauren David, Southern Living, 19 June 2026 At the same time, the process of Jessie navigating the pros and cons of consumer tech finds this franchise at its best. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 June 2026 What are the pros and cons there? — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026
Verb
Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish. — Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cons
  1. prisoners
  2. scams
  3. studies
  4. reviews
  5. hustles
  6. tricks
  7. convicts
  8. frauds
Noun
  • Many said prisoners were often transferred to a new facility and lost their paperwork in the process.
    — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026
  • The new firing squad law didn’t go into effect until this year to grant the prison system time to rebuild its execution chamber to accommodate shooting prisoners to death.
    — Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 10 July 2026
Definition of prisoners
Noun
  • Older adults are particularly vulnerable to identity theft and other scams and are often advised to ignore junk mail and calls from telemarketers.
    — Susan Jaffe, NPR, 6 July 2026
  • Online dating scams often involve someone building trust over time before requesting money, financial assistance, gift cards, or personal financial information.
    — Matthew Kayser Updated July 6, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Definition of scams
Verb
  • Stanford professor Jamie Zeitzer, a physiologist who studies circadian cycles and how humans respond to light, supports ending the twice-a-year time changes.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
  • These findings could be useful for understanding how modern sleep patterns affect our health, says Sonja Schütz, a neurologist who studies sleep medicine at University of Michigan Health.
    — Kate Graham-Shaw, Scientific American, 9 July 2026
Definition of studies
Verb
  • After countries nominate their most consistently top officials, FIFA carefully reviews the candidates and narrows down an elite list of potential referees, assistant referees and video assistant referees.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026
  • The Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews your lifetime earnings and averages your 35 highest-earning years into a monthly amount known as your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).
    — Trina Paul,Dan Avery, CNBC, 10 July 2026
Definition of reviews
Verb
  • Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.
    — Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026
Definition of hustles
Verb
  • Exterior walls, similarly, may be warmer than an interior wall, which tricks the thermostat and causes the AC to run longer than necessary.
    — Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 15 July 2026
  • Cthulhu, who tricks the Minions into releasing his friends from purgatory.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 29 June 2026
Definition of tricks
Noun
  • He is listed among the two hundred convicts who arrived in Sydney aboard the barque Norfolk in August 1829.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • The new bill has a broader base of legislative support and instead uses the preference distinction to incentivize hiring former convicts as opposed to the 15% quota.
    — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of convicts
Noun
  • Lowry, in the meantime, would embark on a two-decade career in a league that spits out frauds on the regular.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 8 July 2026
  • Their only inheritance is a legacy of two-bit crime that inspires them to run increasingly audacious frauds.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 25 June 2026
Definition of frauds

Browse Nearby Words

conquest
cons
consanguineous
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Cite this Entry

“Cons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cons. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of cons for Spanish Speakers

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